Screen Name

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

This Facebook account is already present

Your Club account has been locked due to a breach of our Terms of Service. Please set up a new account in line with the Club rules. Review the Club Rules. Alternatively, you can email us by completing our contact form.

Please enter a valid email address

The email address/password you submitted is wrong or could not be found. Please try again. If you are not a member of the FIFA.com Club, please register first.

Overview

Pele steps out of the shadows

All great teams need their
fantasistas, the Zinedine Zidanes and Cristiano Ronaldos
of this world who thrill crowds with almost superhuman skill. But
where would they be without the grafters and water-carriers,
players prepared to get dirty and carry out the thankless
tasks?

Fortunately for Portugal, that question never arises, because in
Pele they boast one of the most gifted in the business. His
supercharged name naturally screams for attention, but the
youngster is impeccably humble, especially since he possesses the
kind of talent that could see him and his side go far. If anything,
he addresses the media much in the same way he patrols the pitch -
straight to the point and without needless extravagance.

"I feel that we're working well as a team and that
we've shown how good we are until now," he says. "The
next match is important and we have to go out there thinking only
about getting the win. We'll need to finish better than in our
opening games because that's where we've come up short so
far."

Tall and sturdy (1.87m, 80 kilos), his slow, rolling gait and
warm, low voice make him a reassuring presence away from the field
of play. On it, he exudes precisely the same calmness and control,
and his positional sense, plus his ability to reclaim the ball and
orchestrate moves have stood out on Canadian soil.

It is almost difficult to believe he is just 19, but compared
to most of his peers he has already amassed plenty of experience.
He began his career at Boavista, left for Salgueiros, moved to
Benfica and then, as if that were not enough, finally ended up at
Vitoria Guimaraes six months later.

"Circumstances have led to me travelling around quite a
bit, but now I'm at Vitoria and I feel good there," he
explains, before adding: "Of course, if I had an offer from a
big European club, I'd think about it. That's only natural,
it's what every player dreams about."

Pele clearly has his feet on the ground, but what about that
name? Surely a certain amount of self-importance - or even
arrogance - has to come with the territory. "I got the
nickname almost as soon as I started playing football," he
says. "At the time, I was about six or seven and I played up
front. I scored a lot of goals too, so times have changed a lot!
That's why my friends started calling me Pele, and at Boavista
it stuck."

'There's no comparison'Many players have been weighed down by a famous name over the
years, but few have voluntarily chosen to add that pressure. With a
smile on his lips, he denies he is asking for trouble, because,
"there's absolutely no comparison with the great
Pele." Perhaps that goes without saying, but in his case it is
doubly true.

Operating in the shadows, he is glad to let his colleagues
further forward attract the limelight: "It's normal that
players like Bruno Gama or Zequinha get all the attention from the
media. They're forwards and they've got great technique.
I'm happy with my role in the background, I'm used to it.
The important thing is that we keep playing as a team. That's
how we'll go far."

A fan of Patrick Vieira and Manuel Fernandes, he may not
clamour to see his name in lights, but he still harbours a healthy
measure of ambition.

Asked which side he would prefer to face in the Round of 16,
he fires back his answer without hesitation: "Our main goal is
to reach the final, so who we face before that doesn't matter.
In the final, we'd like to take on a big team like Brazil.
That's if they make it, of course."

Between now and then, the midfield terrier and his team-mates
will be spurred on by a large contingent of followers in the
stands. There is a sizeable Portuguese community in Canada
(especially in Toronto) and Pele greatly appreciates how they have
made their presence felt.

"We've had incredible luck with that and their
support is very precious to us," notes the youngster, whose
mother hails from the Cape Verde Islands and father from Portugal.
"They push us to play even better, which helps us without a
doubt. And anything that helps is welcome!"

It must almost seem like playing at home at times, but even
without them he insists he would not feel homesick: "I'm
used to being a long way from my loved ones. I was born in Porto:
that's where all my family are, so since I've been at
Vitoria I've been living alone."

As straightforward in real life as he is on the pitch, it
would be a mistake, however, to think Pele is mature beyond his
years. At heart, he remains an adolescent and although he ends the
interview with characteristic politeness, there is a certain
restlessness in his eyes. His friends are keen to explore the jazz
festival on the streets of Montreal and he leaves to join them,
disappearing back into the shadows.